WATCH | 137 dead as blasts hit Sri Lanka churches, hotels

21 April 2019 - 09:53 By AFP

At least 100 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured after multiple blasts at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.
Subscribe to TimesLIVE here: https://www.youtube.com/user/TimesLive

At least 137 people were killed in Sri Lanka on Sunday, police sources told AFP, when a string of blasts ripped through high-end hotels and churches as worshippers attended Easter services.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said at least 45 people had been killed in Colombo, where three hotels and a church were hit.

Another 67 were killed in an attack on a church in Negombo north of the capital, with another 25 dead at a church in the town of Batticaloa, in the east of the country.

The nature of the blasts was not immediately clear and there were no immediate claims of responsibility.

President Maithripala Sirisena in an address said he was shocked by the explosions and appealed for calm.

"I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong. Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation. The government is taking immediate steps to contain this situation."

The first explosions were reported at St Anthony's Shrine -- a church in Colombo -- and St Sebastian's Church in the town of Negombo just outside the capital.

Dozens of people injured in the St Anthony's blast flooded into the Colombo National Hospital by mid-morning, an official told AFP.

"A bomb attack to our church, please come and help if your family members are there," read a post in English on the Facebook page of the St Sebastian's Church at Katuwapitiya in Negombo.